Save the clones!

Rating: 7/10 (26 February 2015)

Part of this movie is a cool science-fiction story about a huge, elaborate, high-tech clone colony in the future run by a corporation that harvests these clones for their body parts. The clones believe they are the remnants of the human race, and that they will eventually be relocated to the last habitable spot on earth: a paradise called the "the island". This is a rigidly controlled world where the clones are kept happy and dumb. The corporation has a huge secret: no one knows that these clones, by medical necessity, have had to be allowed to develop sentience. This part of the movie was pretty good.
Two of the clones escape, and the director of this project must stop them at all costs from revealing the secret. This part of the movie (almost half?) didn't appeal to me so much because it consisted of chase scenes and shoot-outs, the two staples of every Hollywood movie. Yes, it was fast-paced and competently done, but it was still very tedious to watch.
To buy this part of the movie, you have to believe that the staff at this facility are all fanatics capable of keeping a secret, and that the security guards will do absolutely everything and anything to fulfil their orders, much more than even highly trained soldiers would do: relentlessly pursue their prey, drive recklessly, shoot wildly through populated cities, kill innocent people, destroy buildings, ruin expensive vehicles, and even die for their orders. I'm sorry but at one point I realized it was no longer about the plot and believability, but just about cars and guns and selling seats. Yuck. I try to avoid movies like this and I can only drop my score because of it. I have to drop it a full point for this.
The movie felt noble and principled, but what was the point really. Save the clones? Don't f*ck with mother nature? Treat everyone with dignity? Liberty for all? This aspect is not clear really. I can't stand behind it.
Having said this, I must say it was all entertaining and well done. It's an intelligent, well written movie, but with a good dose of action. Worth seeing if you can sit through 45 minutes of chasing and shooting.